Will Swanner's offensive transformation is the byproduct of a series of mechanical adjustments as well as the low Class A Asheville catcher's improved patience at the plate. The Rockies believe he has a bright future.

Sometimes a pitcher's velocity increases, and his stuff improves quickly after getting drafted. That has been the case with Astros righthander Nick Tropeano, who has been one of the top starting pitchers in the minors this season.

Gregory Polanco's professional career truly began when he stepped onto the field with the Pirates in a big league spring training game against the Red Sox in March. Though he was just an emergency callup from minor league camp, he had a chance to see how the other half lives.

Few Carolina League batters have been swinging a hotter bat in the second half that high Class A Carolina middle infielder Tony Wolters. The 20-year-old Indians prospect has taken over as leadoff man following Tyler Holt's promotion to Double-A.

Despite unstable and dangerous conditions in Colombia, Indians third base prospect Giovanny Urshela is determined to honor his country and reach the major leagues. He plays for high Class A Carolina this season.

Ronny Rodriguez has not put up eye-popping numbers in his first two professional seasons, but the 20-year-old Indians shortstop continues to make strides while adjusting on the fly against older competition.

Based on Red Sox first baseman Travis Shaw's performance in the New York-Penn League last year and his modest profile at the time of his draft selection, few could have envisioned the type of season he has assembled with Salem of the high Class A Carolina League this season.

The interesting thing about Archie Bradley is that, in his first season with the low Class A South Bend Silver Hawks, he doesn't really mind being in the spotlight. The down-to-earth rising star has learned to embrace it.

Kenny Diekroger stood out as a freshman at Stanford, but he followed the 2010 season up with two lackluster years. He made his pro debut in the Appalachian League and seems to have found his power stroke.

One of the great challenges in evaluating prospects is placing minor league performance in context. So with that in mind, we attempt to quantify prospect performance by placing in minor league context all the players from our most recent Prospect Handbook and then stack them up position by position.